Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Jon Swift Memorial Roundup 2011

Welcome to a tradition started by the much missed Jon Swift/Al Weisel. He left behind some excellent satire, but was also a nice guy and a strong supporter of small blogs. As Lance Mannion puts it:

Our late and much missed comrade in blogging, journalist and writer Al Weisel, revered and admired across the bandwidth as the “reasonable conservative” blogger Modest Jon Swift, was a champion of the lesser known and little known bloggers working tirelessly in the shadows...

One of his projects was a year-end Blogger Round Up. Al/Jon asked bloggers far and wide, famous and in- and not at all, to submit a link to their favorite post of the past twelve months and then he sorted, compiled, blurbed, hyperlinked and posted them on his popular blog. His round-ups presented readers with a huge banquet table of links to work many of has had missed the first time around and brought those bloggers traffic and, more important, new readers they wouldn’t have otherwise enjoyed.

It may not have been the most heroic endeavor, but it was kind and generous and a lot of us owe our continued presence in the blogging biz to Al.

If you're not familiar with Al Weisel's work as Jon Swift, his site features a "best of" list in the left column.

Meanwhile, Blogroll Amnesty Day (co-founded with skippy) is a celebration of small blogs that's still going strong, and coming up again the first weekend in February.

Thanks to all the participants, especially those who helped out behind the scenes. Apologies to anyone I missed who wanted to participate. You still can, by linking your post in the comments. Whether your post appears in the modest list below or not, feel free to tweet your best post with the hatchtag #jonswift2011.

As in Jon/Al's 2008 roundup, submissions are listed roughly in the order they were received. As he wrote in that post:

I'm sure you'll be interested in seeing what your favorite bloggers think were their best posts of the year, but be sure to also visit some blogs you've never read before and leave a nice comment if you like what you see or, if you must, a polite demurral if you do not.

Sarah, Proud and TallIn which the vengeance of God is justly meted out on earthSarah: "This is a little story about one of Bitsy Trump's famous Christmas parties, which contains gratuitous name-dropping, sex, drugs and an act of graphic violence perpetuated against Ayn Rand. What more could a girl want?"

ZencomixClarence John ThomasDave Dugan: "The real answer behind the question, 'Why Clarence Thomas never speaks when The Supreme Court is in session.'"

His Vorpal SwordThey’re Going After The Wisconsin TeachersHart Williams: "How the Waltons, the DeVoses and the Brothers Koch are intimately connected in their attack on public education. And showing the obscene amounts of money they're using to do it...And showing how it's being applied in one state: Wisconsin."

Kiko's House10 Years After the 9/11 Attacks, The Greatest Cover-Up In U.S. History Remains IntactShaun D. Mullen: "Ten years after the 9/11 catastrophe, the Bush administration cover-up of why the terrorist attacks were carried out despite the White House, CIA and FBI being repeatedly warned of them still holds… The mainstream media has been complicitous in ignoring this cover-up and ancillary efforts to hide the truth, which is not to be confused with the rantings of so-called 9/11 Truthers but rather an effort to hide the serial negligence and incompetence that characterized the government response before, during and after the attacks."

The Debate LinkOn Bad Critiques of Rape Prevelance Studies (Part II)David Schraub: "Two common (albeit somewhat contradictory) critiques of studies indicating rape is quite common in our society are that either the accusers are simply "crying victim" after the fact (e.g., to disguise a sexual encounter they retroactively regret), or that the label of "rape" is being foisted upon events they don't consider to be an instance of assault (as in so-called "gray rape"). In this post, I explain why these explanations don't carry water…"

PerrspectivesThe Triumph of the One Percent in PicturesJon Perr: "With income inequality at its highest level in 80 years while the federal tax burden is at its lowest in 60, the top 1% has already triumphed in the class war Republicans continue to fight on their behalf."

We Are Respectable NegroesBlack History Month is Herman Cain Playing a Race Minstrel For CPACChauncey DeVega: "Here, I examined Herman Cain's breakout performance at CPAC in February 2011. I detailed how he channeled the figure of the race minstrel in order to please white populist conservatives (an argument which I was lambasted for at the time, but that many critics eventually used, in many cases verbatim, months later). Cain and the Right-wing echo chamber latched onto this post. Fox News, Big Hollywood, and many other Right-wing media outlets made it their talking point of the day (or week). Cain became a national figure, in many ways, precisely because of the critique I offered here."

Pruning ShearsReport from ColumbusDan: "An account of the day thousands of Ohioans protesting SB 5 were locked out of their statehouse."

A Blog About SchoolScenes from the first week of schoolChris Liebig: "A description of what my kids' elementary school looks like as it has become increasingly obsessed with behavior, behavior, behavior, and increasingly prone to emphasize obedience and at the expense of critical thought."

Poor Impulse ControlGods Who Are Any More VengefulTata: "The problem of televised crazytalk demands a solution in which surly sane people break the fourth wall – and do it right the hell NOW."

Mario Piperni dot ComThe Republican Primary – The Illustrated EditionMario Piperni: "Say what you will about the Republican primary so far but it has been wonderfully entertaining. I've put together a visual presentation which I believe captures the zany character and antics of all 8 Republican candidates. Enjoy!"

I'll Never Forget The Day I Read A BookThe Autobiography of Mark TwainClark Bjorke: "Maybe you remember that the first volume of Mark Twain's autobiography was finally published back in January of 2011, 100 years after his death. This is my review of the book in which I urge the reader to save a lot of time and money by reading one of the Mark Twain biographies written by a real biographer, instead of this meandering, bloated, Joycean tome. I don't think it was worth the wait."

Bark Bark Woof WoofLanford Wilson – 1937-2011Mustang Bobby: " A tribute to one of America’s great playwrights… and a good friend who taught me all about writing and character."

Diary of a HereticReadiness is AllKathleen Maher: "This episode in a serialized novel-in-progress, "James Bond and the Girls of Woodstock," finds Matthew King, the new James Bond, preparing for, and nailing in one take, a scene in which Bond's arch-enemy tries to kill him with a fire bomb planted in the Brooklyn Museum."

Mock, Paper, ScissorsThis One is for my DadTengrain: "This was on the 4th anniversary of his death, and was just a quick little remembrance, but it seemed to have struck a nerve with my readers. It's not snark, so a bit out of character for the blog."

Simply Left BehindA Promise MadeCarl (aka Actor212): "What happens when you've been promised the American Dream, only to find out it no longer exists? You Occupy Wall Street."

BeggarsCanBeChoosers.comHow Unions Make a Nation CompetitiveMarc McDonald: "Like Rodney Dangerfield, U.S. unions have long struggled to gain respect, especially since 1980. But the reality is that unions help make a nation more competitive by disciplining corporations into taking a long-term view and avoiding the short-sightedness that has long been a disaster for U.S. industry."

Connecting the DotsA Tale of Two AmericasRobert Stein: "An octogenarian compares his childhood in the Great Depression to today’s political climate—a different country in which government was seen as the answer to misery rather than the creator of it."

NorwegianityAn Immodest ProposalMark Gisleson: "Fair warning, this is possibly the rudest thing I've ever written, but it is done in the style of the original Modest Proposal."

The Inverse SquareI’m Shocked! Shocked To Find That There Are Neutrinos Going On HereTom Levenson: "This post looks at how the physicists response to the report of faster-than-light neutrino captures what it takes to assimilate major new results into scientific understanding -- and hence why climate change denialists have a very tough road to hoe."

driftglassDeath of the Anti-Gonzodriftglass: "On the occasion of the death of David Broder, as the over-the-top tributes and plaudits being offered up by every single person in the Beltway Media threatened to blot out the Sun, I thought it only fair that at least one contrarian jerk point out that, because of his willful blindness and reflexive hatred of the Dirty Hippies, the "Dean" of American political reporting completely missed the most important political story of the last 30 years."

darrelplant.comHuey Long Died 76 Years AgoDarrel Plant: "Every year seems to make an annual posting of the Louisiana populist's "Share Our Wealth" plan more relevant. It began it on the 70th anniversary of his assassination, in the midst of the drowning of New Orleans, and it's been a staple through the years our economy has gone underwater."

The Hunting of the SnarkThe Comfort of Others: Inequality Then And NowSusan of Texas: "If you've ever wondered what Jane Austen would have thought of our growing income inequality (and haven't we all?), take a look at my guest post at Naked Capitalism comparing Sense and Sensibility to Occupy Wall Street."

World O' CrapYour Suffering is Putting Me Off My Pu-Pu PlatterScott Clevenger: "Dr. Diane Medved (Psycho Therapist and wife of right wing radio scold Michael Medved) bemoans the plight of wealthy tourists whose holidays are ruined by the sight of poor people, and cries out for vengeance against the Hobos of Hawaii."

M.A.PeelSwing Time: "No Cuffs"!M.A.Peel: "A look at the great Astaire/Rogers film on its 75th anniversary. Its story is amazingly fresh, something not far afield from the likes of The Hangover.

Hysterical RaisinsThe Day Afternonnie9999: "Since the Raisin exists mostly to skewer the worst of politicians and politics, a lot of people would probably be surprised that this is the post that I'm most proud of this year. The sentiment still applies even though almost a year has passed."

LanceMannion.comWorking until we drop: A fable for our timesLance Mannion: "Apparently the geniuses down in Washington have decided that to "fix" Social Security, what this country really needs is a whole lot of people working into their seventies or until they drop dead."

ShakesvilleWoman's WorkMelissa McEwan: "The hard truth for progressive men who care about reproductive rights is this: When you leave the public fight to others, you're leaving it mostly to women. This post is about the many ways in which treating the feminist/womanist fight for reproductive rights as 'woman's work' is some fucked-up irony, and why women need male allies."

This Is So GayAnd HoweDuncan Mitchel: "My review of Florence Howe's memoir A Life in Motion, a book about feminism, class, friendship, academia, the Civil Rights Movement, and publishing women's writings."

Just an Earth-Bound MisfitLaw, War and 9/11Earth-Bound Misfit: "How to truly mark 9/11 by starting to roll back the National Security State."

The blog is really nice one and full of information we appreciate the kind of information you have provided in this post. The information are useful for all of us and we would like to thank you from the bottom of our heart for this wonderful information.

As Lance says, it may not be the most heroic endeavor ever, but yes, just as it was for Jon/Al, continuing this tradition is kind and generous, and you deserve great props for putting in the time and effort.

Thank you. I'm working my way through the list. I'm glad to see you included a Driftglass post, but my favorite Driftglass post has to be "Predicting Mr. Brooks" @ http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2011/11/predicting-mr-brooks.html wherein Driftglass, having read only the two-word topic of NYT columnist David Brooks' upcoming column "Europe's Crisis," accurately predicted six stupid things Brooks would write. The guy's a genius, and by "the guy," I sure as hell don't mean Brooks.

If I have to be sick as a dog over the holidays, how better to spend these days when I'm too tired and weak to do any home projects than to curl up with a cup of tea and this fantastic reading list. Thanks for doing this.

Sadly, I didn't have time to submit a post for the round-up but here's my Thanks Batocchio post for keeping Jon's spirit alive by continuing the tradition. Really appreciate that you do all the work to keep this going.

The Pruning Shears link regarding the SB5 Columbus Ohio protest seems to be directed at a page that no longer exists:http://vagabondscholar.blogspot.com/2011/12/Link%20http://www.pruningshears.us/pruning-shears/2011/2/23/report-from-columbus.html

Those who have profited even as the rest of us fell further and further behind, those who have eaten the meat and even the gristle and sucked out the marrow leaving us only the scraps they thought it too much trouble to pick up, they are the ones who now dare to tell us that we "all" have to do our part, we "all" have to sacrifice, that we "all" have to give more so their stock portfolios won't be damaged in some future financial crunch.

@Suzan: Ah, you should've just tossed a coin. (Or put up a post asking your readers to vote.) And, if you're as obsessive as I am, also added a note to Batocchio to the effect that your submitted post was "well … one of the best posts of the year, as chosen by this blogger."

I think this is a great tradition to honor, and I guess my New Year's Resolution as a small time blogger is to construct a post that I feel better about submitting to this list. It's hard to see your own ramblings clearly.